Releasable hook fastening for fence wire



Sept. 25, 1956 T. DANIELS RELEASABLE HOOK FASTENING FOR FENCE WIRE Filed Sept. 10, 1954 FIG.

INVENTOR LOU/5]." DANIELS ATTORNEY United States Patent O f ce RELEASABLE HOOK FASTENING FOR FENCE- Louis T. Daniels, Spanish Fork, Utah Application September 10, 1954, Serial No. 455,241

6 Claims. (Cl. 256-48) The following specification relates to an improved fixture or releasable hook fastening for fence wire.

In rough, mountainous, snowy country, it is customary to disconnect fence wire from the' fence posts during the winter season. Wire which is left attached andin' place islikely to be broken by contraction due to the cold. It is also subject to damage. will accumulate on the wire to such an extent as to'cause it to break. For such reasons thefence wire is customarily disconnected from the post and allowed to lie loose on the ground. The staples by which the wire has beenheldtothefen'ce post must be pulled out, collected and kept for future use. In some instances they are even left in piles on the ground at the foot of the posts. This leadsvery readily todeterioration and loss.

Thepresentinvention is designed to provide a fastening fixture which may be left permanently upon the fence post. The wire is removably held by the fixture.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a mode of attachment by which the-wire can be engaged with the fastening manually and without the use of ordinary or special tools.

A-still further object of the invention is to secure the attached-wire against accidental or inadvertent removal, so that even though the wire may become slack, it cannot become disconnected.

Among the objects of my invention is to facilitate, however, the intentional separation of the wire strand when desired.

As illustrating my invention I have shown the preferred form on the accompanying drawings by way of example, in which drawings:

Fig, l is a plan view partly in section of the improved hook fastening in normal operation;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fastening;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the fastening turned for disengagement of the wire;

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the fastening attached to a metal angle post, and

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation showing the mode of securing the staple.

In brief, the invention comprises a hook fastening which is permanently attached to a fence post by means of the usual staple. The hook is so designed that it may hang freely from one side of the staple when disconnected from the fence wire. However, by moving the hook member around to the upper end of the bight of the staple and holding the hook horizontal, it is presented for easy attachment of the fence wire. The design of the hook is such that the fence Wire allows the hook member to drop to the mid-portion of the bight of the staple, and thus lock the wire against separation from the hook.

In the preferred form illustrated, I have shown the customary square fence post 6, although a round one is also suitable. Contrary to the usual practice of applying the fastening for the fence wire tangentially of the post, that is, at the point where the wire is in contact, the

Moreover, ice, sleet and snow 2,764,389 Patented Sept. 25, 1956 2 fastening is applied on the side of the post as shown in Fig. 1. r

This is illustrated by the position of the strand of fence wire 7.

The fastening means includes the double-pronged'staple 8 of usual construction. Figs. 1 and 2-illustrate how the staple is applied on the side of the post rather than on the front edge.

The cooperating member is a hook having an intermediate part 9. One end of the hook is bent back to form a loop 10'. The end of the loop is Wrapped around the intermediate portion 9 of the hook to form a permanent loop. Other forms of making the loop are obvious, such as butt welding the end of the member against the intermediate portion 9. V

The staple 8 is driven in securely but with the bight exposed sufficiently to' permit the loop 10 to be movedloosely.

Thus in' Fig. 2 it is shown in dotted lines that the hook member may hang vertically from the lower exposed portion of the staple.

The opposite end 11 of member 9' is bent around to form a hook. This has a straight portion 12 running parallel to the intermediate portion 9. It is also in the same plane as the loop 10. (See Fig. 1.)

The straight portion 12 is spaced far enough from the intermediate portion 9'to allow angular movement around the wire 71' Ordinarily the engagement of the straight portion 12 with the wire 7 allows the hook to hang down as shown in Fig. 3. However, in attachment or disengagement, the hook may beturned for as much as 45 degrees as shown in Fig. 4; where the wire 7 then is-in contact with both the intermediate portion 9 and the parallel spaced portion 12, but at horizontally spaced points.

The free end 13 of the hook is bent to form'anexten'sion which is: in a plane inclined to'the plane of the hook. This is-clearly indicated in FigSL-3'and 4, where the free end. 13* is approximately 45' degrees-front the plane of the hook proper.

Also, the free end 13 is bent at an acute angle from the portion 12 and away from the loop 10. This shown in Fig. 3. It has the purpose of retaining the wire 7 within the hook in all positions, except in the plane in which the free end 13 is brought into parallelism with the wire 7.

The mode of attachment is illustrated in Fig, 4. Here the hook member has been lifted to the upper portion of the bight of the staple 8, bringing the plane of the hook inclined to the vertical with the free end 13 substantially horizontal. In this position the wire 7 can be bent slightly out of tangency with the post 6 and into the position shown at 14, on Fig. 4. This bent portion is then slipped over the inner end of the hook and brought outwardly of the free end 13. This is represented by the parts as shown in Fig. 3.

If the hook member is allowed to slide down over the bight of the staple 8, it takes the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Here the free end 13 of the hook forms aretainer so that even though the wire may be bent slack, it is still prevented from disengagement. The acute angle between the portions 12 and 13 insures retention of the wire 7.

To disengage the wire it is only necessary to tilt the hook member in the opposite direction until the slackened wire at 14 can be passed inwardly beyond the end 13, when the latter is in the position shown in Fig, 4. The disengaged wire may rest freely on the ground or be coiled up until it is again needed. During the inactive period, the retaining or hook member will hang freely from the staple as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The fastening hook is a permanent fixture on the post, disposed at a remote point from the tangency of the wire on the flat or curved surface of the post, in fact, the fastening may be of such a length as to maintain a slight arcuate contact between the wire 7 and the post, somewhat like the portion 14. I p

In Figs. and 6 I have shown the fastening as used with a fence post made of a steel angle-bar 15. Thepost is set with its edge 16 on the line of the fence wire 7. The hook member 9 is as described above. The staple 8 has its points 17 passed through holes 18 on one flange of the post. The points are then spread as shown in Fig. 6 for permanent attachment. The operation of the hook member is as described above.

The fixture is permanent, thus protecting against loss during the season when it is not used.

The engagement between the fence wire and the fastening means is made manually. No special or usual tool are needed.

The fastening is secure against accidental dislodgment.

I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention without, however, limiting the scope of the invention other than by the terms of the following claims.

What I claim is:

l. -A fixture for holding fence wire and the like which consists of a staple for permanent attachment in a vertical plane on the side of a fence post, and a member having a loop at one end for attachment loosely on the bight of the staple, and a hook on the opposite end of the member in a plane parallel to the loop, said hook having an end extending angularly from the plane of the hook transversely of the intermediate portion of the member.

2. A fixture for holding fence wire and the like which consists of a staple for permanent attachment in a vertical plane on the side of a fence post, and a member having a loop at one end for attachment loosely on the bight of the staple, and a hook on the opposite end of the member in a Plane parallel to the loop, said hook having an end extending at right angles to the plane of the hook transversely of the intermediate portion of the member,

3. A fixture for holding fence wire and the like which consists of a staple for permanent attachment in a vertical plane on the side of a fence post, and a member having a loop at one end for attachment loosely on the bight of the staple, and a reversely bent hook on the opposite 4 end of the member in a plane parallel to the loop, said hook having an end extending at right angles to the plane of the hook and across the intermediate portion of the member.

4. A fixture for holding fence wire and the like which consists of a staple for permanaent attachment in a vertical plane on the side of a fence post, and a link member having one end permanently looped loosely around the bight of the staple, and a hook on the opposite end of the member formed of a backwardly bent'portion in parallel relation above the member proper and spaced to receive a fence wire when the hook is tilted out of its'vertical plane and an extension on the hook intersecting the member proper.

5. A fixture for holding fence wire and the like which consists of a staple for permanent attachment in a vertical plane on the side of a fence post, and a link member having one end permanently looped loosely around "the bight of the staple, and a hook on the opposite end of the member formed of a backwardly bent portion in parallel relation to the member proper in a plane parallel to the plane of the looped end and spaced to receive a fence wire, and an extension on the hook intersecting the member proper in a plane inclined to the planes of the member ends.

6. A fixture for holding fence wire and the like which consists of a staple for permanent attachment in a vertical plane on the side of a fence post, and a link member having one end permanently looped loosely around the bight of the staple, and a hook on the opposite end of the member formed of a backwardly bent portion in parallel relation to the member proper in a plane parallel to the plane of the looped end and spaced to receive a fence wire, and an extention on the hook intersecting the member proper in a plane inclined midway between the planes of the member ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 377,524 King Feb. 7, 1888 737,642 Lombard Sept. 1, 1903 1,254,388 Brawshaw Ian, 22, 1918 

